Anyone done this route? Was thinking of a full day starting and finishing at Balmaha. Up Westie to Inversnaid, ferry over to Tarbet (or Inveruglas) then down the Way to Balloch and back to Balmaha by road. Just wondering the conditions and the type of surface.

Might be more fun to head east on the steep tarmac road from Inversnaid, this would bring you to Loch Katrine, and you could make your way over to Aberfoyle then back to Balmaha somehow. Saves you having to coordinate with ferries as well.

I don’t have maps in front of me, but at the very least there would be some entertaining singletrack into Aberfoyle, and I’ll bet there’s more fun to be had on the forest roads in that area than on the Three Lochs Way.

Sounds great! The Three Lochs Way is right on my doorstep but I’ve not ridden all of it yet. I reckon this would be doable in a day though and would take in some awesome trails like Glen Loin. They’re still working on the alternative route over Ben Bowie (Balloch to Helenburgh section) which has already been re-routed once so don’t know what that’s like. It’s a bit of a jungle up there but I can go up and have a look at it one night this week to see what it’s like. When are you thinking of doing the route? There’s always the cycle path from Helensburgh to Balloch if needed but you’d miss out the Stoney Mollan descent which is ace.

From Balloch to Balmaha you could avoid the main road by following Sustrans route 7 to Drymen then join the WHW through Garabhan Forest and up over Conic Hill if you still have some energy left. Unfortunately there is no path along the east side of Loch Lomond from Balloch to Balmaha so route 7 would be your safest option I reckon.

http://www.threelochsway.co.uk/

An alternate to going all the way up to Inversnaid is to climb up the big hill at Cailness which has a landrover track going up the hill. At the top a long fast descent takes you down to the back of Ben Lomond and the forest. When I did it there was a 10 foot locked gate to be climbed. From there I went through the forest to the Drymen-Aberfoyle B Rd then back to Balmaha on the WHW.

An option to lengthen the day is to go along the south side of Loch Katrine on the track to the former bothy at Glasahoile. From there it would be a 2km mostly trackless uphill push to the pass at Bealach nam Bo before path then track to Loch Ard. Still an off road alt to the tarmac round the northside.

I’ve only walked the south side and it was a few years ago so I can’t comment on the current condition of the tracks. Bealach nam Bo can be tricky to find going east. The pass isn’t obvious until quite close. Careful map and compass work recommended.

Have been condidering a lap of Ben Lomond also, just like the idea of having a ferry in the middle of a run.

GiantJaunt, that is exactly the road back from Balloch I meant, would not want to do the main road. And yes, maybe up and down Conic!!
Not sure when I would do it, but if you a member of the Glasgow Mountain Bike Meet Up, keep an eye on it… and if you non a member, then join up! Might do in June.

I’m not a member of the bike club yet but have been meaning to go on one of the Mugdock rides soon. Do I have to join the club or can I just tag along then decide? Cheers.

GiantJaunt, the Maountain Bike Glasgow Meet Up Group is free to join, and you have to simply register to sign up for a ride – no commitments, nothing. The GMBC also do rides, on a Wednesday for beginners and you just go along and ride, you can then decide later if you want to join. See the relevent websites for details.

Nice one thanks. I hear that there are Mugdock rides on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings so wondering which night to attend? Where do you meet and at what time? Thanks.

Click on above link for the Meet Up Group. This week there are rides Monday, Tuesday and Thursday – they leave from Milngavie Train startion car park.

For GMBC see link below:

wallace1492 your links arent working mate,i registered ages ago with every intention of going along for some mugdock rides as i only stay in clydebank but the wifey does zumba nearly everynight but i have went up there a cpl of times with a mate and just went in at the woods across from the cafe and carpark and have found some very good ridding but recon theres much more to find,for local handyness i tend to just go up to the kilpatrick hills,a good 3hr loop we’ve found.hopefully one day i’ll get to tag along and find some new routes….

Thanks Wallace I know where that is I’ve parked there before when I went cycling in the park. I didn’t really know my way about then and I hear that some trails have gone and there are new ones now too.

Meet Up Group

Hainman, no idea why the links not working… I have tried again.
What loop do you do in the Kilpatricks? We went from Burncrooks to Humphrey and Greenside a few weeks ago and it was a bit hike-a-bike.

GJ, lots of trails about. Always evolving…..

Planning it for a possible article but adding in the Coire Grogain loop and trip to the summit of the Cobbler to make it more of an epic day out……… 😀

I have two willing victi….., mates who are up for the challenge. Sweeeeet!

wallace1492 i usualy go up the humphrey road from old kilpatrick then get to the resevoir and along to the black linn and greenlands resevoir and down the craggs path to overtoun house,under the bridge and along the path and come out at the police station at dumbarton then along the cycle path,have a wee fart about at bowling behind magic cycles,some wee jumps then home to clydebank.or for a short one up to the jaw,cochno resevoirs the down the the greenie and pub on way home.will have a peek at the link,i’ve been upto mugdock twice and found some ace riding.will hopefully be up on friday if weather permits,

All sounds good. Most of the Three Lochs Way is tracks but it would be a good way of looking for other stuff I reckon. You guys would like Pappert Hill if you don’t already know it. The path starts near O’Hare at the northern edge of Bonhill Estate (western edge of Kilpatricks) and snakes up through the woods to the Pappert Hill trig point then you can come back down the obvious ridge and retrace your route back down through the woods. I’m not sure many people know about it as I’ve never seen any other cyclists or their tracks but it’s a real gem. It used to be more technical through the woods but they surfaced it recently, still great fun though.

giantjaunt i’ll need to look into that one.i’ll need to quiz my father in law,he’s from balloch and does alot of walking so he might know how to find it and point me in the right direction.

I went to have a look at that section of the ‘Three Lochs Way’ today between Balloch and Helensburgh. There’s a load of wind blown trees blocking the route at the top of the Stoney Mollan as you enter the forest but these can be avoided by going north of them into the clear fell area. It looks like someone’s started chopping them up so hopefully it’ll be clear soon.

There’s not much of a path forming yet through the forest and the Killoeter escarpment is very very steep although the route is well marked with markers and red and white tape. The tape leads you pretty much straight up the Killoeter escarpment but I found it easier to zig zag a bit more especially as I had the bike with me. I think this could be a great bit of trail if routed well.

Once out onto the open hill the route is marked with tape on bamboo canes. There is no trodden path yet on the open hill but the ground is mostly dry and great for cycling on. I really enjoyed the descent down into the town. The path becomes a bit more visible lower down before you enter the woods. Well done to Helensburgh and District Access Trust for establishing a much needed route between there and Balloch.

http://www.threelochsway.co.uk/balloch-helensbu.html